§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessments of(a) Private Finance Initiative and (b) market testing have been carried out by the Prison Service since January 2000; who carried out the work; and what the main findings were. [167363]
§ Paul GogginsIn late 2000 the Prison Service commissioned Patrick Carter, then a non-executive director of the Strategy Board for Correctional Services, to consider how best to develop the contribution of the private sector, particularly the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), to achieving the objectives of the Prison Service. Mr. Carter reported in January 2001. The main findings relevant to the question were that past market tests demonstrated beyond doubt the value of the competitive process in driving down costs and improving performance in public sector prisons, that PFI had proved successful in attracting capital investment and delivering high quality prisons and that competition should continue. Ministers welcomed the report.